Duke Energy Rates and Data Centers: Who Pays for the Grid in Charlotte and Raleigh?

Duke Energy customers in Charlotte, Raleigh and across North Carolina could see higher power bills starting in January. At the same time, big new data centers are lining up for huge amounts of electricity. A deal filed this month tries to answer a simple question: who pays for the grid those projects need?

What is happening with Duke Energy rates

Duke first asked for residential rate increases of about 18% over two years. After pushback from customers and consumer advocates, it reached settlements that would raise residential rates about 9.5% over two years for Duke Energy Carolinas, which serves the Charlotte area, and about 6.8% for Duke Energy Progress, which serves much of the Raleigh area, according to WRAL. The North Carolina Utilities Commission can still approve or change them.

For a typical Duke Energy Carolinas home using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month, the Carolina Journal reported the bill would rise $9.39 a month in 2027, from $156.81 to $166.20, and about $5.52 more in 2028. That is close to $15 more each month, or roughly $180 a year.

Some families face more. A monthly $42 bill credit for about 80,000 lower-income customers is set to end December 31. Losing it would cost a household $504 a year, WRAL reported.

The new rules for data centers

On October 7, Duke, the state Public Staff and large companies including Amazon, Google and Microsoft agreed on a "large load" rate for the biggest new power users, according to Duke Energy. If approved, new users above set sizes would:

• Pay up front for equipment that serves only them, like a new substation.
• Put down deposits and guarantees for shared upgrades, like transmission lines.
• Pay a separate rate set for very large users.

Duke expects a decision by mid-November.

Not everyone thinks it goes far enough. WFAE reported that shared transmission costs would be spread across all customers at first and paid back over the data center's contract. Critics worry that if a project leaves early, other customers could be left paying. The rules also would not cover contracts signed before June 1, 2026, which WFAE said may include two Charlotte data center projects.

How Idea 10 would help

Idea 10, Have Large Power Users Pay for the Grid Upgrades Their Projects Need, is built around this exact question.

• Big users pay their own way. Very large customers, such as data centers, would pay for the power plants, lines and connections their projects need, and those costs should not be passed into home electric rates.
• Cost sharing in public. Households could see what they are and are not paying for.
• Better grid planning. Federal tools would improve how power lines are planned and connected.
• A realistic supply plan. Advanced nuclear stays under consideration for the long term, without selling future technology as a quick fix for today's bill.

North Carolina's deal is a step in this direction. Idea 10 would make that approach the standard and keep the books open. There are tradeoffs: stricter rules could slow some projects and the jobs and tax money they bring. This is a draft idea, not current law.

Tell us what you think

Should the biggest power users cover the full cost of what they add to the grid? Vote yes, no or not sure on Idea 10, and add a private comment if you like.

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